Stephen McManus: The performances have been growing stronger with each game in the UYL | OneFootball

A busy week of action for Celtic FC B continues on Tuesday afternoon as they gear up for matchday five in the UEFA Youth League.

The Bhoys travel to Rome to take on Lazio as they eye up their first three points in the competition of this season.

Last in action on Friday evening, it was ultimately a disappointing evening for the young Hoops as they lost out to Brighton at the American Express Stadium.

However, it was a positive display overall, as the Celts fought back from three goals down to level up the scoring, before losing out to a late stoppage time strike.

Speaking to Celtic TV ahead of his side travelling out to Italy, B Team coach Stephen McManus reflected on the performance at the Amex, insisting that the Bhoys can take plenty of positives from the performance.

He said: “In the first 10 minutes, we gave away poor goals to start with which was disappointing. But the character and the resilience the boys then showed after that was brilliant.

“Brighton are a very good side. There was a good atmosphere within the stadium. It was maybe very different for the boys, some might not have experienced that before.

“We were really pleased with certain aspects of it in particular. Obviously we were bitterly disappointed to lose the game in the manner which we did.

“But there were loads of positives for us coming into a busy period of the season.”

The Celts will have the opportunity to quickly put that result behind them as they travel out to Rome to face Lazio on Tuesday afternoon.

The last time the two sides met came on matchday two of the competition, and a late Mackenzie Carse spot kick sealed Celtic’s first point in Europe this season.

As the two teams get set to face off once again, McManus believes that although results haven’t gone their way this campaign, the performances have continued to improve with each game.

“The UEFA Youth League has been a challenge this year, in comparison to what it was last year,” he said. “We were competitive in all the games last year.

“Each game, the performances have probably got better even though the results haven’t been as positive as what we would like.

“Winning football matches at our football club is part of the development. It’s not the be-all-and-end-all, but the performances have certainly been better than the results we have had.

“Hopefully we can go out, give it a good go and make a good account of ourselves.”

Upcoming Fixtures

Celtic B Vs. Cumbernauld Colts - Sat, Dec 12th 2023, 15:00